Denning woman had reported violence in home prior to being killed, police say; boyfriend charged, held without bail

DENNING, N,Y. -- A woman who previously reported domestic violence in her home has been beaten to death and her boyfriend stands accused of killing her, state police said on Tuesday.

Gerald K. Babcock, 39, was charged on Monday with manslaughter in the March 7 death of Jamielynn Bleakley, 37, who suffered multiple bruises and contusions in the couple's home on Woodfield Road home in the western Ulster County town of Denning, police said.

State police Senior Investigator Peter Kusminsky said investigators "don't believe there was a weapon involved. It was physical, with his (Babcock's) hands."

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Police said emergency services personnel were called to the couple's home at 8:39 a.m. March 6 and found Bleakley suffering from multiple injuries. She was taken to Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris and then was transferred to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where she died a day later, police said.

An autopsy revealed Bleakley died from injuries suffered in an assault, police said.

John Tobin, Ulster County's chief assistant district attorney, said manslaughter, which is less serious than murder, was the most appropriate charge in the case based on the evidence but that it could change.

State police said in a prepared statement that Babcock and Bleakley had been living together in the months prior to Bleakley's death and that "there had been indications of domestic violence during their relationship."

"We know they've been associated for several months," Kusminsky said. "There had been reports of domestic violence within the past couple of months."

Kusminsky said Bleakley had contacted police before about being a victim of domestic violence but that there was no indication she sought medical treatment for any injuries.

Babcock was arrested in the Sullivan County village of Liberty by village police and subsequently was charged with manslaughter, state police said. He was arraigned in Ulster Town Court and sent to the Ulster County Jail without bail.

Tobin said a preliminary hearing in the case against Babcock is scheduled for Friday in Ulster Town Court.

Bleakley, who was born in Saratoga Springs, was a graduate of Saugerties High School, attended Columbia-Greene Community College and graduated from SUNY Empire State College.

She is survived by her former husband, Timothy C. Bleakley; two children, Caitlyn, 7 and Corey, 10; and her mother, two brothers, four nieces, a nephew, an aunt and cousins.

A trust fund for Bleakley's children has been set up at Bank of America.

Timothy Bleakley called his former wife's death a "tragic loss" and said it's been hard on their children.

"There's no way I can really grieve, except to be there for my children and be their support," he said.

He said Jamielynn had multiple sclerosis and that her health had been deteriorating since 2003. Before that, she worked part-time at the Cortlandt Nursing Home in Westchester County, he said.

Bleakley said he knows he now has to be strong for his children.

"The kids are as good as can be expected," he said. "Every now and then, they think about Mommy and break down."

Kathy Moretti, the director of Family Domestic Violence Services, said she was sickened by the news of Bleakley's death.

"I know her friends and family are devastated. She didn't deserve this at all," Moretti said. "Less than a month since 'One Billion Rising' (a domestic violence awareness event), and two women have been murdered," she said, referring to Bleakley and Tyrochelle Haughton, 35, of Port Jervis, who was beaten and stabbed to death, according to police in Orange County.

"Statistically, one in three women will know some form of domestic violence," Moretti said. "It just goes on and on and on."